Turkey: Opposition leader says Bolton serves to support Erdogan

The leader of the nationalist opposition in Turkey reacted to former US national security advisor who recently said that Turkey "isn’t acting like an ally" and that Turkey's removal from NATO should be considered.

John Bolton said in an article published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday:

"Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but it isn’t acting like an ally. Yet there’s a chance he can be stopped, if the West takes bold action to help ensure his domestic opposition gets a fair shake in upcoming presidential elections. To do so, the alliance ought to put Ankara's membership on the chopping block. Considering expulsion now will allow for the alliance to debate the pros and cons of its membership and emphasize - both to Turkish voters and NATO members - the high stakes of the coming election."

Meral Aksener, the chairwoman of Good Party, retweeted Bolton's message, and said that his statements actually "serve to support" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The Great Turkish Nation has always lived free and will continue to live free. We will defend our independence in the new century of our Republic, just like we did 100 years ago, and will not let our will be politically manipulated by any country or any shady organization."

She continued:

"Those statements that target the will of our nation actually serve to support Mr. Erdogan, who tries to extend these dark times of our country, who has turned it into a habit to exploit foreign policy to provide support for domestic policies."

She added:

"But nobody should be worried, the Turkish Nation will give a great lesson of democracy on the ballot box to all circles of power!"

Months to the coming presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, the Good Party is in alliance with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) under the Nation Alliance.